Planning inspector rejects permission for FIVE Wickford pitches

A planning inspector has rejected planning permission for five pitches but has granted permanent permission for one on land at Silva Lodge Kennels, in Hovefields Avenue, Wickford.

The decision follows a four day Inquiry which concluded on Friday 8 September. The Inquiry was in relation to an appeal made by Thomas Anderson against enforcement notices served by the council in September 2016, after the site in the green belt was developed without planning permission.

A High Court injunction was also obtained at the time, which was subsequently breached, resulting in fines and a custodial sentence.

In the decision letter, the planning inspector explained that allowing a single pitch would contribute to caravan site provision in the borough and it would meet a specific identified need as the reasons for the decision to grant permission for a single pitch. The other occupiers on the rejected pitches have until February 2019 to remove their caravans from the land.

Cllr Gavin Callaghan, Basildon Council’s Chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee, said “It is deeply disappointing that permission has been granted for one pitch. Basildon Council put up the strongest possible case in supporting the enforcement notices to remove all the development that had taken place in flagrant contravention of planning law.